Learning styles: A comparative study of cultural differences in African -American, Anglo -American, Asian -American, and Hispanic -American accounting students in Texas public universitie

Combining the theories of learning style, culture, and acculturation, the purpose of this study is to explore the possibility of cultural influence on the learning styles of accounting students. A total of 409 African-American, Anglo-American, Asian-American, Hispanic-American, Native-American, and other intermediate level accounting students from ten Texas universities participated in a survey that examined acculturation and learning styles using Kolb's Learning Style Instrument (LSI). The survey results indicate that minority accounting students prefer the assimilator learning style in contrast to non-minority accounting students who favor the converger learning style. The participating minority and non-minority accounting students are on opposite ends of the learning spectrum. The results also show that the greater part (54%) of the participating minority students identify themselves as bicultural. Yet, the overall acculturating rating was not significant in influencing the learning style preference. The process of acculturation does not influence learning style preference as does the culture of an individual. Additional cultural-based research in the accounting field is necessary to understand whether the difference in learning style preference contributes to the limited participation of minorities in the accounting profession.